Cinderella
by TheFabMax
Summary: When Taylor's mom won't let her go to the dance, how far will she go to make sure she gets there? And is it worth it? Chaylor, with background Troyella.
1. Trouble

**Cinderella**

**Chapter One: Trouble**

I had never particularly thought myself to be like Cinderella. I mean, my parents are married, I have, no evil stepsisters, I don't clean the house every day, you get the idea. But, in grade 11, as far as I was concerned, my mom was evil.

It all started out when I was going to the after party with Chad. We were having a great time. Oh, man, is he a good dancer. But in the midst of all the fun, I seemed to have forgotten something. It's not a big deal, or anything, but I guess it could matter just a bit.

It's a little thing I like to call "curfew."

Usually, I am home by my curfew, 12:00 pm sharp. I was never once late, and more than a few times I've been early. So you don't think my parents would freak out, right?

Wrong.

"Taylor Joanne McKessie! _Where _have you been! Your father and I have been worried sick about you! You are _two hours _past your curfew. _Two hours_! What do you have to say for yourself!" I winced.

"Geez, mom, take a chill pill." I guess that was _not _the right thing to say for myself.

My mom's voice turned deathly quiet. "What did you say, Taylor?"

I gulped. I knew I had crossed the line. Big time. In answer to my mother, I looked down at my toes and muttered something incoherent.

"That is not an acceptable answer, young lady!" Uh-oh. Now it was _really _big. My mom never called me 'young lady' unless I was in uber trouble.

Then she dropped the bombshell. "You are _not _allowed to go to the Winter Dance next week. You are grounded!"

My mouth dropped open. "_What_! Mom, you can't ground me! It was only once! Once!"

"Yes, but it could turn into a habit. You could do it again, and again!" My mom was on a role. "You could have been in a car crash, you could have been kidnapped! You could have run away, you could have eloped! You didn't even call to say you would be late!"

I sighed. There was no point in arguing back. Plus, it wasn't helping my case. I just put on my best puppy-dog face, nodded sadly, and went to bed. I hoped if I behaved well, mom would maybe let me go to the dance.

The thing is, I would have stayed late at the after party if it wasn't for what Chad had done. Or rather, hadn't done. He didn't kiss me, not on the cheek or anything! Or even told me that he liked me! At the door, all he said was, "I had a great time tonight." I mean, come on. _Every _guy says that. He is _so_ unoriginal. Why on earth do I like the most unoriginal guy on the planet?

After sitting on my bed for about half and hour thinking, I decided to call Gabriella. She _always _knew how to help me sort out my thoughts.

_Ring, ring, ring_.

Gabriella picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Gabi, it's Taylor."

"Hey, Taylor, what's wrong? You sound like you have a lot on your mind"

"Oh, Gabi, it's the _worst_." I whined. "I was home late from the after party, and my mom grounded me! So now I can't go to the Winter Dance!"

Gabriella paused. "I wasn't aware that you had a date to the dance, Tay."

I sighed loudly into the phone. "_Gabi_, you know I was waiting for Chad to ask me! But now it looks like even if he asks me, I won't be able to go!"

"Taylor," Gabriella replied tentatively, "You don't know that he was going to ask you. I mean," She continued quickly, "He maybe decided to go solo. Or he could have asked a cheerleader." She said the last part quietly, as if she hoped that hadn't, and never would, happen.

I felt my voice catch. "Wha-what? Gabi, do you know something?"

"No, no, of course I don't, Taylor. I'm sure he wouldn't want to go with anyone _but_ you." She tried to reassure me.

"Are you positive that you don't know anything? Not even a clue? Because I can take it, you know. I'm a big girl now."

Gabriella giggled at the last remark, remembering our obsession with the pull-ups commercial. "Positive, Tay."

"OK, thanks, I got to go now. See you tomorrow." I hung up.

Of course Chad would ask a cheerleader! I thought to myself. It's not like we were in a serious relationship. He had taken me to the after party, and not even kissed me. It was one measly date. Sure, I had liked Chad for the past, oh, two years or so. But if he didn't like me, I would give up.

A thousand thoughts ran through my head. Did he like me, and not know how to show it? Did he like a cheerleader, and I was too obsessed with him to see it? He _had_ been flirting with Tonya, the most popular, ditzy cheerleader I know, at the after party, but I had brushed it off as his usual player style. He hadn't exactly given me hints that he liked me as more than a friend. What if….. I cringed at this thought, What if Chad had only asked me as a _friend_? Oh, my gosh, that would be so humiliating! What if I was taking his intentions the wrong way?

"Enough with the 'What ifs'!" I murmured aloud to myself. I was obviously going to need some intense therapy, ASAP.

I took out my diary from its secret hiding spot in my… _special items_ drawer. No one goes in there! I started to write.

_Dear Diary,_

_Today I had a great time with Chad at the after party. We danced, talked about everything from school to his mom's obsession with Phantom of the Opera, danced, ate some food, and did I mention dance? It was great, anyway. I really feel that I connect with him! We didn't run out of things to talk about for a minute! But I'm not sure if he likes me in the same way. Maybe he thinks of us as only friends. I don't think I could live it down if I told him I liked him, and he only liked me as a friend. But what if he likes me too, but doesn't know how to show it! Aargh, I'm only more confused than when I started!_

_Well,I should go to bed. Bye!_

I slipped under my covers, still slightly shocked. I couldn't go to the dance! Well, I reflected, I guess I'm more like Cinderella than I thought.

**A/N: OK, so that was my first chapter in my first Fanfiction _ever_! Please tell me if you like it, hate it, whatever. I would also accept ideas for future chapters, and flames are welcome! I accept anonymous reviews, so press the button! I want to hear what you people think!**


	2. Tonya

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Two: Tonya**

**Disclaimer: I don't own HSM. But I wouldn't mind owning Ryan. Not Lucas Grabeel, Ryan Evans, thank-you very much!**

I woke up to my alarm clock beeping at me. _Beep, beep, beep_ went its monotonous voice. Usually, I set it to turn on to the radio. But I had had a feeling that a song wouldn't wake me up this morning. I had stayed up all night yesterday, unable to fall asleep. I was so bored, I had read my book for my book report, due next Tuesday, and finished the report. I am such a keener.

I stumbled around my room, trying to find the perfect outfit for the day. My yellow skirt with the floral top? Nah, too preppy **(A/N: I have nothing against preps. In fact, I am one! Back to the story…)**. Maybe all black, for mourning? Nope, I wasn't _that _depressed. After about twenty minutes of this, I decided on my purple and green reversible skirt, and a white tank top. Preppy, yet in a nice, laid back sort of way.

I hurried down the stairs, after completing my makeup and hair routine. I didn't have much time for breakfast, due to my indecision on my outfit. I grabbed a granola bar, and hurried out of the house.

I had to run to the bus stop. I got there right as the bus was pulling away from me. Dang. This was not going to be a good day for me, I can tell. So I waited for the next bus to come. Naturally, it was late, and I barely made it to school in time. In fact, I had just closed the door to Darbus's classroom when the late bell rang. Sighing with relief, I plopped into my seat.

Mrs. Darbus always makes a dramatic entrance. Today, with a swirl of her magenta cloak, that looked an awful lot like the ones Frodo and Sam wear in Lord of the Rings, a powerful odor seemed to follow her through the door, and to her desk. I saw Troy having a coughing fit in the front row.

"Well, class, today we will be doing a short creative writing class. Just let your imaginations wander, and set your soul free!" Mrs. Darbus finished with another swirl of her cape.

Gabi and I looked at each other. This has _got _to be the easiest class in Darbus history! Usually she has us memorizing Shakespeare, or reading Charles Dickens. I knew that no one was actually going to write anything.

I could see Chad having a laughing fit in the second row. He _always_ had something funny to say about Darbus herself, what she said, or what she wore. Sometimes I wished he would leave her alone. Yet, sometimes I found it the funniest thing in the world. It's strange the feelings I have sometimes. And I wasn't even PMSing. Hmm….

After Mrs. Darbus had firmly seated herself behind her desk, and was working on a _huge_ stack of marking, I caught Gabi's eye, slowly took out my cell phone, and watched her do the same.

(The underlined is Gabi and the **bold **is Taylor)

so tay whats up? you look like the zombie bride! Jk

**oh, nothing much. Just pitying myself.**

im sorry that you cant go to the dance, but lets be practical. chad didnt even ask you!

**are you hating on me? cuz i am your best friend. **

dont try to make me pity you, are you allowed to go to the dance or not?

I sighed before replying.

**do you really think my mom would change her mind?**

i guess thats a no?

**yes, its a no. we better stop texting, mrs darbus looks as if she has an annoucment to make.**

kk, by.

I turned off my cell phone, and quickly rotated in my seat to face Mrs. Darbus. I was right; she _did_ have an important announcement.

She cleared her throat. I saw Chad imitating her, exaggerating her actions.

"Now, class," she said with a sweep of her arm, "I have an important announcement to make."

Am I psychic or what?

She continued. "We will-"

She was cut off by the 3rd period buzzer. Mrs. Darbus sighed, and shouted out after us, "It will have to wait until tomorrow."

The rest of the day dragged on. And on. And on. Finally, lunch period came around. I was last in line (of course!) and because of that, the last one at my table. Basically, my table is Gabriella, Troy (sometimes), me, Cathy (a member of the scholastic decathlon team), Lucy (same as Cathy) and very rarely, Chad. Today, it was just me, Gabi and Troy. Cathy and Lucy had the flu. Lucky them.

"Hey, Tay! What's up?" Gabriella asked me. Troy nodded and waved his greeting.

"Oh, nothing much, other than the fact that I'm having the worst day of my life!" I plunked down at the table. My friends stared at me, surprised at my outburst. I usually show what I'm feeling, but not that strongly.

"Um, OK. So," Gabriella tried to change the subject, "What did you think of Mrs. Darbus's perfume?"

Troy gagged at the memory. "Maybe, 'Ode to a Rotten Cabbage'? Or perchance 'Teen Spirit'?"

I stared at Troy, then Gabriella. "Perchance? Since when did you learn such big words?"

Troy blushed. "Gabriella taught them to me." He mumbled.

"Ah," I said, with sudden understanding. "That would explain a lot. Like your history essay mark. 96 just isn't like you, Troy."

Troy turned, if possible, redder. "Hey! I only had a little help from Gabi! I worked hard on that essay!"

I noticed that Gabriella was giving me the don't-harass-my-boyfriend-just-because-your-day-sucks look. I refrained from snorting.

"Well, I'll just leave you two lovebirds alone for the rest of lunch."

I picked up my tray and dumped it in the garbage. It wasn't worth eating, anyways. I then trotted off to the library.

While I was looking up books on Mesopotamia, I spotted Chad's volumous hair. It's pretty hard to miss. I headed over in the direction of the mass of curls, with a casual conversation on my mind.

As I neared the place where he was, I spotted another figure, a figure I loathed. Tonya Wagner. Head cheerleader of the East High Wildcats. I'm not quite sure why I hate her so much, I just do. Maybe it's because of all the things she has that I don't. Popularity, a huge wardrobe, the ability to hit it off with a guy, any guy, as soon as she meets them, to name a few.

Tonya was, as we speak, flirting to the max. I mean, hair flipping, eyelash battering, light punches that were really more like caresses, the works. Worst of all, Chad seemed to be enjoying it! He was flirting right back! And here I was, actually thinking that he liked me!

So much for my fairytale.

**A/N: OK, that was the second chapter of Cinderella. What do you think? Review, but I have changed my mind. Try to be nice! And if you criticize, make it in a nice way, OK? Please press the button, though. You know you want to.**

**Tootles!**

**TheFabMax**


	3. Shopping

**Cinderella**

**Chapter 3: Shopping**

**A/N: Hello, hello, how are you? I am sorry about the wait, you know, school and all. Thank-you to the reviewers who have reviewed in a nice, helpful way, not in a mean and snarky way.**

**Disclaimer: Nopers, I don't own HSM. **

As Tonya flipped her shoulder-length brown hair, I stumbled out of the library, my stomach churning. Obviously Chad wasn't going to ask me to the dance. Tonya, it looks like, would be the lucky lady. I felt like I had forgotten something, something important, about Tonya. Oh, well. It was probably something stupid like she had stinky feet or whatever.

As I trudged down the hallway, I remembered that the day was only half over. I groaned. There was still three more hours of torture until I could leave.

I quickened my pace, nearly skidding to a halt in front of my locker. I opened my locker after about five tries. I checked my hair in my locker mirror, making sure my loose curls were still in place. I then grabbed my Science textbook and binder, and headed off to the other side of the building.

As I was nearing the Science room, I saw Troy kiss Gabriella good-bye, and head in the opposite direction. I power walked **(A/N: YES! POWER WALKING!) **to the classroom, and slid into my seat. The science teacher started droning on and on about cell reproduction, amoebas, unicellular and multicellular organisms. I slipped Gabriella a note saying;

_Hey, _

_Let's go shopping after school. I have nothing to do, and I need new shoes. Please come!_

_-ScienceGurlOfAmerica_

Gabi and I always used our MSN names as our names on notes. In that way, if one got found, they wouldn't know who it's from. Gabriella slipped me the note back, saying;

_Sure, why not? You seem depressed; I need to cheer you up, girl! I'll drive, I took my mom's car today._

_-BambiEyes101_

I still giggled whenever I saw Gabriella's MSN name. I mean, most people would expect 'SpanishMami' or 'FreakyMathGirl.' But Gabriella knew how to surprise everyone.

I turned my full attention to the front of the class, and took notes on amoebas. Hey, even if it was a worthless topic, we still had to know it!

The end of the day couldn't come fast enough! I had more bad luck throughout the rest of the day. First, I messed up my solution in chemistry. Then, I started to open the locker next to mine instead of mine! Finally, in my rush to get out of this horrid place, I slipped in some spilled liquid as I was running down the hall. Luckily, I didn't actually fall, so my outfit was still perfect.

Gabriella was waiting for me at her car. Actually, it was her mom's car, but Gabi never mentioned that to anyone. Its shiny red paint gleamed in the hot, New Mexico sun. I sighed. Gabi's mom had the best taste in everything, and was always fair. Unlike _some_ mothers I know.

I slipped into the passenger's side, and checked my make-up. Hey, you can never be too careful! Gabriella slid into the driver's seat about two minutes after I was in the car, because she was saying good-bye to Troy. I must admit, I was quite jealous of her. Her and Troy have been a couple ever since they started rehearsing for 'Twinkle Town,' though it didn't look like it at first.

Gabriella started the ignition, and then zoomed off. Another thing about Gabi that you wouldn't expect, she likes to drive _really_ fast. She's even gotten several tickets. But did her mom ground her? No…..

After about 15 minutes of driving, we screeched to a stop on front of the Mall. Now, I may look sound like the kind of girl that does not like to shop, period. But I do. I _love _to shop. Don't get me wrong, I have never maxed out my debit or credit card. I am not a fanatic; I just like getting new things. But you can't tell all that often, because I clean the stuff I don't wear out of my closet and give it away.

Enough about my shopping habits. Back to the present. As we entered the mall, we were greeted by a blast of cold air from the high-tech air conditioner.

"OK," Gabi looked at the map of the mall. "Where should we go first? Payless Shoe Source, Mariposa, Garage, or Sears?" She suggested, ticking off the names on her fingers.

"Um, how about Mariposa?"

"Great!" Gabi exclaimed. I grinned. I knew Mariposa was Gabriella's favourite store.

"Come along then!" I held out my arm for Gabriella to take, and she accepted, giggling. "Come along, my dear"

"Taylor, you have the _worst _British accent of anyone I've met!" She commented, still giggling.

"Touché." I grinned.

After several minutes of skillful navigation through the malls crowded hallways, we finally got to Mariposa. As we stepped in, London Bridge by Fergie came on the radio. That got me in the mood for shopping, so I headed on over to the clearance rack, Gabi following closely behind.

"You are _not_ going to get all the good deals this time, Taylor McKessie!" Gabriella warned me. I grinned. She was still a little mad about the time we had gone shopping, and I had gotten two bags full of clothes, and she had gotten nothing.

I started flipping through the rack, humming to the music. I pulled off a t-shirt, black jeans, and an argyle sweater. I saw Gabriella take off several dresses, each a different style and colour. I sighed. _I_ couldn't buy a dress for the dance. I mentally shook myself. Get over it, Taylor! I then went back to searching for just the right shade of blue to go with my new shorts. Eventually, when mine and Gabi's arms were so full we could hardly hold the clothes anymore, we decided it was time to go to the fitting rooms.

When we had lugged the stuff over there, the fitting room attendant looked at us with wide, scared eyes. After a few moments, she got over her shock, and got us rooms.

Unfortunately, luck was not with me. Nothing that I tried on fit! I handed my stuff to the lady (she staggered under the weight) and waited for Gabriella to come out. Eventually she did, with two dresses slung over one arm, and the rest of her stuff on the other. She handed her stuff to the fitting room attendant (who nearly fell down) and walked over to me.

"Oh, my gosh, Taylor, check out this dress!" she fairly screamed at me. I looked. It was an aqua blue, with detailing around the edges. I had to admit, it _was_ very nice.

I frowned. "But what's the other dress for?"

Gabriella grinned. "Well, it was too big on me, so I thought you might want to try it on!"

"Are you calling me _fat_?" I asked, pretending to be mad.

"No, Taylor, but you know you're a bigger size than me! Come on," she coaxed, "It's really pretty!"

"Oh, fine! If it'll shut you up!" I grabbed the dress, and went into a fitting room, without the attendant's help. I held up the dress to look at. It was red. I have to admit, I do not own a piece of red clothing that is not pajamas. Ah, what the heck? I thought, and put it on. It fit perfectly!

I stepped out, to show Gabriella. She screeched. "Oh, my gosh, you look _amazing_!"

I looked in the mirror. I had to admit, I did not look to shabby. Actually, I hardly looked like myself. Red was a good colour on me. Who knew?

"So?" said Gabi.

"So what?" I asked, very confused. Had she asked me a question, and I had been day dreaming to much to notice?

"So are you going to buy it?" asked Gabi, in the most obvious voice in the world, as if what else could she be talking about.

A weird, twisted-yet-brilliant plan popped into my head. "Yes, Gabi, I will buy it. I'll wear it to the Winter Dance."

"Um, Taylor?" Gabriella said, looking scared. "You are grounded, remember?"

"Gabi, let's go to Starbucks. I'll explain everything there."

"OK." Gabriella said, now just looking confused.

After ordering two Frappichinos, we sat down at a table near the back of the food court.

"OK," Gabi said, "What's this about, and is it legal?"

"Depends," I said, "Is sneaking out legal?"

**A/N: Oh, cliffy! I dunno, you might be able to guess what she's gonna do, lol. Sorry for the long wait, folks, I had school and such. Anyways, this is just a filler chapter. Things get really juicy soon!**

**Tootles!**

**TheFabMax**


	4. The Plan

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Four: The Plan**

**A/N: Now, some of you are getting worried that Taylor has gone crazy and that this will have a sad ending, with Taylor in the asylum. Well, YOU'RE WRONG! This is just a surprising story. Keep you guessing, you know? Everything will turn out OK.**

**Disclaimer: Pfft, I wish I owned it.**

Gabi spit out a mouthful of her latté. "What!"

"I _said_, is sneaking out leg-"

"I heard you!" She said angrily. "But you don't even have a date! Why risk so much just for a dance?"

"Gabi, I have to know if Chad likes me. I mean, I know it sounds lame, but if he only likes me as a friend, then I have to know!"

Gabriella looked frustrated. "Why don't you just ask him?"

I shook my head. "Gee Gabi, that might have worked on Troy, but not Chad. Chad's too closed up about his feelings. Besides, my parents will be out until 11:30 that evening. They wouldn't expect me to sneak out, so they left me home alone. You know I have no siblings to tattle on me. The dance ends at 10:30, it'll be easy!" I was practically begging now. I could see Gabriella starting to crack.

"Well, I still don't know, Taylor. I mean, _sneaking out_…"

I put on my famous puppy-dog face. "Please? You know I've liked Chad for a long time. This may be the only way to get together!"

She cracked. "Oh, all right! I'll help you in your evil plotting."

My face lit up. "Great! My parents are leaving at seven, the dance starts at 8:30, come over at 7:30, OK?"

Gabriella giggled. "Taylor, it's Thursday. The dance isn't for another week! Why are you planning so far in advance?"

I grinned. "Once a keener, always a keener. And the dance is on Friday, so really it's a week and a day."

We both laughed, and set to work.

ILUFHSM-ILUFHSM-ILUFHSM-ILUFHSM

The next day, I was feeling pretty satisfied with myself. Gabriella and I had ironed out all of the details for the plan, except one.

How would I disguise myself so Chad wouldn't recognize me?

As I walked into school, I brushed that detail off. Gabi was right; we still had a week until the dance. I got my books from my locker, and headed off towards homeroom. Luckily, I had Mrs. Darbus for LA later in the day, not that morning.

My walk to homeroom went without a fault. I didn't trip, rip my clothing, do anything embarrassing, or forget something. So far, my morning was going pretty good.

I sat down beside Gabriella, and continued plotting. Mrs. Darbus entered today in a swirl of pink polka dots, strips, and patterns, with the same perfume on. Troy was practically having an asthma attack in his seat. I felt sorry for him. There was only so much perfume one guy could take!

After the loudspeaker come on with the announcements, Mrs. Darbus raised her arms, cleared her throat, and once again, said, "Now, class. I have an important announcement to make." I squirmed in my seat.

"The dance," she continued, "Will be a masquerade!" **(A/N: You all knew it was coming!)**

I nearly ran up to the front of the room and gave Mrs. Darbus a huge bear hug. My day, no matter what happened, was now, officially, perfect!

Chad scoffed in the front row. I didn't care. Chad would never recognize me in a red mask and a red dress, since I never wore red! I will also tell him that I can't go to the dance. He won't suspect a thing.

Mrs. Darbus dismissed us to go to our next class. Mine and Gabriella's next class was advanced chemistry. This was good, because all we had to do was mix a solution and note the result, which we did in about three minutes. So we had the rest of the class to talk about our evil plot.

Gabriella leaned in closer to me, so we would be heard. "So, isn't it great that the dance is a masquerade! I mean, Chad will so not recognize you!"

"I know!" I squealed, **(A/N: Sorry, I know Taylor would never squeal, but she is excited, OK?) **"I mean, now we have all the details worked out!"

I was actually still quite surprised that Gabriella had agreed to help me. I mean, no offence, but she is a bit of a goody two-shoes, you know? But she's my friend, and that's what friends are for.

"Well, Taylor, there is still one more detail to work out," I looked alarmed, and she continued. "It's nothing big, just what name will you use? You can't say that your name is Taylor when you're supposed to be undercover, can you?"

I breathed a sigh of relief. I thought it was something big. "Hmm. It should be believable, but not to common. And definitely not to weird."

Gabriella started pouring in the suggestions. "How about Anna? Nah, to plain. Maybe Joyce? Nope, to weird. How about Zvingly? Nope, not believable."

Gabriella could have gone on for hours, if I hadn't stopped her. "How about April? That's believable, and not too common."

Gabriella's face lit up. "That's a great name!"

I giggled. "I'm glad you approve of my name. So, about the dance. Is Troy going to pick you up or what?"

Gabriella grinned. "I have that all arranged. I called Troy last night-"

I groaned. "So _that's_ why your phone was busy!"

Gabriella glared at me, and then continued. "I called Troy last night, and told him I would meet him at the dance. He asked no questions at all, it was easy."

I sighed. "Good. But Gabi, you _cannot_ let Troy in on the plan. He might tell Chad, or let it slip around him!"

Gabi bit her lip. I could tell she was having trouble agreeing to this. Her and Troy were close, and told each other everything. Finally, she agreed. "OK, I won't. But I don't like it!" she warned.

I grinned hard. "Thank-you, Gabi." I said in a sing-song voice.

Gabi laughed, and punched me gently. I looked quickly around the Chemistry classroom, to make sure no one was eavesdropping on us. Either no one was, or they were a really good actor. And Sharpay wasn't in advanced chemistry, so it was all clear.

The bell rang for our 10 minute break, and everyone was out the door in about 2 seconds. We rushed out to the hallway with the rest of the class, and hurried to our lockers. Unfortunately, I had Math and Gabi had Social Studies, so we went our separate ways.

Math was uneventful, as we were reviewing our previous unit. I had already studied for this test a week ago! I knew everything the teacher was talking about, so I daydrea- I mean, I let my imagination go free! (Quote from Mrs. Darbus in a previous class)

About halfway through class, I felt my phone vibrating in my pocket (I had learned to never have it on ring). I looked around, and took out my cell phone. Luckily, I sit at the back of the classroom, so no one saw me. I flipped open my phone, to see a text message from Gabi. It said:

(The underlined is Gabi and the **bold** is Taylor)

hey whats up? ss is so boring!

**i know! in math, we are reviewing. i know everything already!**

lol. you smartie.

**shut up! better smart than stupid.**

i cant believe that you think getting called smart is an insult. what has chad done to you?

**oh, shut up! n e ways, i am so freaking out over the dance! i know he'll recognize me!**

you are so paranoid, lol.

**well, g2g bi!**

bi!

I snapped shut my cell phone with a sigh. Would this class never end?

Mercifully, the class ended minutes later. In lunch, I was having good luck, too. I got the last pudding, and the lunch was macaroni, my favourite. I sat at my table with Gabi. No one else sat with us because they were either sick, or at different tables. After finishing our lunches in five minutes, we decided to go to the library, and research different kinds of masks to wear to the masquerade.

As we stepped into the library, I saw a familiar head of shiny brown hair.

"Oh, no." I groaned. "I do not want to put up with her!"

"Hey, Taylor," Gabriella said as I turned to leave. "Didn't you say Tonya was flirting with Chad? Like, majorly?"

I sighed. "Do you have to remind me? Yes, she was!"

"Well," Gabi said, "Tonya already has a boyfriend. I don't think Chad knows that, but I remember, don't you? And she's with him over there. Canoodling, if you will."

I smacked my head. "_That's_ what I forgot! Oh, my gosh, she is in major trouble."

I looked over and grinned evilly. This day was definitely working out to my advantage.

**A/N: OK, that was chapter four of Cinderella. What do you think? Review, review and review! They make me feel good!**


	5. Telling Chad

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Five: Telling Chad**

**A/N: Hey, hey, my homedawgs, what is up? If you read chapter four, you would notice my use of the word, "canoodling." I am sorry, it was such a fun word, and some of you are like, "What? Canoodling?" Anyways, I present to you… Cinderella, Chapter Five.**

After exiting the library to get away from Tonya and Blake (her boyfriend), we sat down in the lounge.

"I wonder if Chad knows that Tonya has a boyfriend? I mean, it's not as if Chad knows Blake all that well, and I don't think Chad would purposely cheat with someone." I wondered aloud.

"I don't know. Tay, maybe I better tell Troy after all. I mean, he is friends with Chad, and he could pass on the message that Tonya has a boyfriend. And he could monitor Chad's actions, to make sure everything goes according to plan." Gabriella suggested.

I bit my lip. I wasn't quite sure about telling Troy. I mean, he's a great guy, but he _cannot_ keep a secret! And I do not want my plan to get out to him.

First, let me describe the plan to you. My parents leave at 7 o'clock and Gabi arrives at 7:30. We leave at 8:30, and get there at 8:45. That way, we aren't the first ones there, and don't have to do a lot of introducing and explaining. I will try to catch Chad's eye, and dance with him. I'll ask him if he's with anyone, very casually, and if he says no, I'll ask why not? And if he says yes, I'll ask with whom? After that, I kind of play it by ear. With Tonya trying to cheat on her boyfriend, the plan should go without a hitch.

I snapped back to attention. I had a hard decision to make. "Well," I started, "Troy's a great guy, Gabi." She nodded vigorously. "But, you have to admit, he's a bit of a big-mouth."

Gabriella looked downcast, and I continued. "What I mean is, Chad's his best friend, and he might let it slip, or might hint at something that could give it away."

Gabriella looked at me with pleading eyes. "Please? It's so hard to keep a secret, and I know he could help! And I'll make him _promise_ not to tell, no matter what the situation."

I gave in. "Fine. Just make him promise not to tell, OK? And monitor his actions closely."

"Oh, thank-you, thank-you, thank-you!" Gabriella screeched. You would have thought I had just given her the Nobel Prize! I continued. "Anyways, the plan will be easier, and everything will go according to the plan that way."

The bell rang then, signaling that there was five minutes left until class. Gabi and I looked at each other in horror. We both had LA next, and that was on the other side of the building! We grabbed our books, and ran to the other side of the building. We slid into the classroom the moment the bell rang for the second time. I could hear kids scrambling to get into class, and waited for Mrs. Darbus to appear. I saw her coming down the hall, or should I say, _smelled_ her coming.

"Good afternoon, class," she greeted us, swirling her polka-dotted shawl. All the patterns were starting to make me dizzy. "In light of the fact that we are having a masquerade, we will be doing research on the different types of masks worn to a masquerade, and what they represent. **(A/N: I don't know if the different types of masks matter, or if they mean anything. I'm just making it up.)** You will present, and hand in, a written essay, due Monday. It will be 1000 words or more. You may begin."

A groan went through the class. 1000 words?! What a way to wreck our weekends, Mrs. Darbus.

I went to the computer lab right away. It was actually kind of interesting. I could hear Chad groaning away about how this was a girl assignment. That could have been because he was sitting in the computer beside me. I wasn't quite sure why he sat there. There were at least 10 other computers available. I thought nothing of it, though. He probably wanted to cheat off me. Though I do admit, I got shivers up my spine whenever our legs touched.

I learned that smaller masks, made of bright colours and with ornate edges, meant that a woman was single. I also learned that larger masks, made of dark materials, with plain edges, meant that a woman was with someone. It's more conservative. Pretty cool, if you ask me. **(A/N: I made all that up, just FYI)** Men could wear about any mask they want, but they, just like the women, wore brighter colours for single men, and darker for taken men. I wondered if Chad was paying attention, and if he was, what kind of mask he was going to wear.

The rest of the period passed by in a flash. I even had my outline done by the end of the class! I figured I would finish it tonight, as I was mask shopping on Saturday.

The hard part of the day had now come. Telling Chad that I was not going to be at the dance next Friday. Gabriella and I had already figures out how. We would start up a conversation with Troy and Chad. Gabi would all be talking about her dress, and Troy would say that he was taking Gabi, blah, blah, blah. I would be looking so downcast Chad would have to ask what was up. I would tell him that I couldn't go. It was foolproof. And now that we had Troy on our side, nothing could go wrong.

We approached them after LA class, while we were walking down the hall.

"So," Troy started up. "You're going to the dance with me, right Gabi?"

Gabi grinned. "Of course. I already have this amazing dress, you should see it, it is so gorgeous." Gabi blabbered on and on about her dress, giving me a perfect chance to look downcast.

"Hey Taylor," Chad said, sounding concerned. "What's wrong? You look so sad!"

Ha! He had fallen right into my trap. I kept a straight face, though the way he had said my name had sent shivers down my spine. "My mom said I can't go to the dance."

Chad looked at me. "Why?"

I swore in my head. I hadn't thought of that! Luckily, Gabriella saved me. "She has to look after her two little cousins."

I silently thanked Gabriella, and vowed to put her in my will. "Yeah. My cousins are sweet, but I would rather go to the dance. But, I couldn't get there if I tried. I can't leave them alone! They're only three and five."

Chad put a consoling hand on my arm. I felt goose bumps erupt on the spot. "That sucks. Poor you, it should have been fun."

I relaxed at his words, and then stiffened. _Should have_? Did that mean that he wasn't going to the dance? "Are- are you going to the dance?"

"Yep." Was Chad's response.

"Cool. Are you going with anyone?" I knew that this was a risk, but I didn't care.

Chad frowned. "Nope. And I don't think I'm going to ask anyone, either."

My heart leapt. He wasn't going to go with anyone! I felt like doing a little victory dance, but restrained myself.

"Well, see you guys later!" I said, and pulled Gabriella off to our lockers.

"Oh, my gosh!" she screamed as soon as we were out of earshot. "He so likes you! Did you see the way he looks at you? And he sat beside you in LA. And he isn't going to the dance with anyone! Oh, this is perfect."

I smiled happily, and then frowned. "Only one thing left. Troy has to tell him what a freak Tonya is."

"I got it covered." Gabi said. "Troy will tell him tonight. He's coming over to his house. Besides, I think Chad liked you from the start. I think Tonya was only to make you jealous! I mean, he sat beside you in computer today." She said it as if when someone sat beside you in computer, that automatically meant that they liked you.

"Oh, he probably just wanted to cheat off me." I brushed it off.

Gabriella gave me a sidelong glance. "Whatever you say, Tay. I guess we'll see at the dance."

"Yep." I agreed with her. "So, we still up for mask shopping tomorrow?"

"Yeppers. See you around." She said, and set off towards Science for the next two periods. I had Phys. Ed and Health. I grimaced. Some way to end that day.

HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM-HSM

School ended in a blur of kids running down the hallways, and me almost (but not quite) missing my bus. When I got home, I grabbed a snack, went to my room, and started my homework. Today had been a very good day to me.

**A/N: That was chapter five. What do you think? I noticed some people have me on their story alert list, but they don't review. You have it on your alert list, so review it! Please review? puppy dog eyes **


	6. Masks

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Six: Masks**

**A/N: Hello, this is chapter six of Cinderella, my one and only story. I would like to say, not a whole lot of people are reviewing, and some people who have me on their Story Alert list have never reviewed! So, if you like the story, and want it to continue, review. Thank-you!**

**Disclaimer: No, unfortunately, I do not own HSM. I do, however, own the DVD with my sister, and at the end of the day, that's all that matters. Also, I do not own Sexyback, by Justin Timberlake. Don't sue! cringes**

I woke up and looked at my alarm clock. 8:15?! Why didn't my alarm go off? I was going to be late for school! I bolted out of bed, and ran to the shower. I ripped off my pajamas, took about a 5 minute shower, and threw on some clothes. It was only when I was bolting down breakfast that I realized that it was Saturday.

"Arrg!" I grumbled, and sat down at my table. It was not the right day for me today! Oh, well, I had shopping for masks with Gabriella to look forward to. That would happen at 10:00. Gabriella would come pick me up in her mom's car (again) and we would drive to the mall.

I basically sat around, watched cartoons (hey, I happen to like Hannah Montana, OK?), and fixed my makeup. At 10:00 on the dot, Gabriella pulled up to my driveway, and honked the horn. One thing about Gabriella you can always count on is that she'll be there on the dot. I called out a good bye to my mom, and ran out the door. I pulled the car door shut after me.

"Thank you for saving me from that hell!" I said in greeting to Gabriella.

"How bad was it?" she asked.

"Well, first I kind of forgot that it was Saturday, and that I didn't have school, so I was up at 8:15, and totally freaking out, then I remembered that it wasn't a school day, and I was so bored until you came because there is nothing to do in my house!" I finished my spiel with a big breath, after that horribly long run-on sentence.

"Whoa, looks like somebody needs some desperate alone time, if you know what I mean." Gabriella said.

I lightly slapped her. "Hey, don't slap the driver!" she scolded, with a frown on her face. It ruined the effect slightly when she giggled.

"Whatever." I teased, and turned up the radio. Unfortunately, Sexyback was on.

"I'm bringing sexy back, yeah, you other boys don't know how to act, yeah!" Gabriella sang. I cringed. Gabriella was a good singer, but she was not a good R and B singer.

After several minutes of Gabriella singing off-tune R and B music, the song ended. Thank goodness.

"So," Gabriella started. "What exactly are we shopping for?"

"Did you forget already?" I looked at her inquiringly. "We are shopping for masks for the dance, remember?"

"Right! So, I'm going to get a white one, to match the detailing around the edges. How about you?"

I grinned. "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to get a red one!"

Gabriella frowned. "I don't know. That seems like a bit too much red. How about a gold one, to match the detailing on your dress?"

I was quiet for a moment. "Hey, that's not a bad idea! Do you know a store that sells masks? Because I sure don't."

Gabriella's eyes widened. "Oh, crap. We're going to have to look through the whole mall, aren't we?"

"Yep." I answered, with a nod of my head. "I have a feeling it might take a long while."

We pulled (more like screeched) into the parking lot of the mall. After parking and getting into the mall, we did something that we hadn't done in a while; check the maps of the mall.

"OK," I started. "There are five stores that look promising. First, we have Sears. There is everything there. Second, we had Party-o-Ramah. Third, we have Wal-Mart. Fourth, we have The Bay. And finally, we have Holidays Galore. They might have some masks left over from Halloween."

"Great." Gabriella said. "Where should we start? Oh," she said, without waiting for an answer, "How about Wal-Mart?"

I rolled my eyes. Trust Gabi to go to the cheapo store. "OK."

As we walked off to the opposite side of the mall, another one of my favourite songs came on the radio. Stacey's Mom. I laughed out loud as my friend Stacey's mom passed us by in the cosmetics section.

"Oh, my gosh," I said to Gabriella, my eyes streaming with tears. "Did you see Stacey's mom pass by?"

"What? Where?!" Gabriella said spinning around. She also burst into laughter as she saw her.

"Hoo, OK, calm down Taylor." I said, giving myself a mental pep talk. "Concentrate on finding masks. Concentrate."

Gabriella and I looked and looked, but we could not find any masks. About an hour later, we had ruled out Wal-Mart, Sears, The Bay, and Holidays Galore. The only one left was Party-o-Ramah. We started off to, yet again, the other side of the mall.

"Gabi," I groaned. "Why did we not go to all the stores on one side of the mall, and then the stores on the other side? My feet hurt!"

"Hey, hey," Gabriella said. "My feet are no better. In fact, I bet they're worse."

I didn't even bother to ask how you feet were sorer than mine, considering I had on heels and she had on flats. After about five more minutes of walking, we got to Party-o-Ramah. My jaw dropped as we saw the store windows. 'Masquerade Sale!' the window proclaimed. 'All masquerade items for sale!'

I nearly ran to the manager and gave him a massive hug. Talk about lucky!

"Taylor!" Gabriella squealed. "Oh, my gosh, I think we might just find a mask here!"

I rolled my eyes. Leave it to Gabriella to point out the obvious.

"Well," I tugged her arm. "Come on!"

As we walked into the store, I was hit with a wave of plastic-smelling air. We headed straight to the masquerade section. Of course, there were about 500 types of masks. Gabriella and I stuck to our original colour plans (Gold and white). After about 20 minutes of searching, I found the perfect mask. It was a relatively small mask, with a matte gold finish. Gabriella found a slightly larger, white mask, with some pure white (Fake) feathers on it. While waiting in line for the register, Gabi having beaten me to it, I thought about all the things that could go wrong in the plan. What if my parents came home early? What if Troy told Chad What if…? I cut my thoughts off. I could not think about those things now.

After what seemed like a million years, it was my turn at the register. Gabi was waiting for me outside, so I quickly paid for my purchase, and walked out of the store. What I saw made my eyes widen. Not only was Gabi waiting outside of the store for me, but so were Chad and Troy!

"Hey, guys." I greeted them weakly.

"Hey Taylor," Chad responded. "What did you buy?"

**A/N: Bwahaha, a cliffy! If you want to read more, review, review and review! Come on, pretty please with a cherry on top? Sorry about the short chapter, it's called writer's block. Remember, review!**

**Tootles!**

**TheFabMax**


	7. A Close Call

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Seven: A Close Call**

**A/N: Hello, my beautiful (or handsome) reviewers, how are you? I am fine, thank-you very much. I noticed that some of you put my new story, Truth or Dare, on your story alert list. This is not, I repeat, NOT, a continuing story. It is a oneshot. Sorry to get your hopes up. Anyway, back to Chapter Seven: A Close Call.**

**Disclaimer: For the last time, I DO NOT OWN HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL! Thank-you. And I don't own Starbucks.**

I panicked. How could I answer that? I obviously couldn't show him the mask, he would recognize it! What could I do? Then, a brilliant idea struck me.

"It's, um, you know, _lady stuff_." I said, knowing that that would get him off my back. I said a silent thank-you that the bags were unmarked.

"Oh," Chad said, looking down at his shoes and turning red. "Sorry 'bout that, I didn't mean to snoop."

"It's OK; I've got nothing to hide." I replied, waving it off. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Gabriella and Troy were having a whispered conversation, and that Gabi was not looking too happy. I decided to let them talk, so I continued my conversation with Chad. "Yeah, so, what were you and Troy doing here?"

"Oh," Chad sounded relieved for a change of subject. "Um, we were here looking for suits to wear to the masquerade. Actually, Troy was. I already have mine. We're going back to his house to shoot some hoops afterwards."

I saw that Troy and Gabi's conversation was done. I bid good-bye to Chad, and stood beside Gabriella.

"Come on, Gabi, lets go," I said, pulling her away to a bench nearby. I waited for the guys to walk away, and then turned on Gabi.

"What were you and Troy talking about? You looked mad!"

"Oh, Taylor, Troy hasn't told Chad about Tonya yet! But," she added quickly, "He will as soon as they get back to his house."

"Oh, good." I sighed with relief. "Hey, do you want to get some Starbucks?"

HSMISCOOL-HSMISCOOL-HSMISCOOL

**(A/N: This is now from Troy's POV thanks.)**

Chad and I were chilling in my kitchen after an intense game of one-on-one on my court. I gave him a sidelong look. Should I really tell him about Tonya? I shook that thought off. I knew it was true because Gabi told it to me. She's my girlfriend; she would never lie to me. Also, I didn't want Chad to become part of a messed-up love triangle.

"Hey Chad," I started off cautiously, "Do you know Blake Penner?"

Chad looked at me. "I think so. He's a skater guy, right?"

I nodded my head. "Right. And his girlfriend is Tonya Wagner."

Chad looked surprised. "You're kidding me. I thought Tonya liked me! Why was she flirting with me if she had a boyfriend?!"

I sighed. Chad was not always on the ball. "Well, maybe because she's a… oh, I don't know, maybe a SLUT!" I practically screamed. Chad looked at me.

"Whoa, Troy, calm down. I'll tell her I'm not interested, OK? In fact," he continued, "I'll call her right now, if it makes you feel better."

"Good idea." I said, and grabbed the school phonebook and my phone.

"OK, so her number is 725-6845 **(A/N: I just made that up, don't call it.)**." Chad dialed the number. _Beep, boop, beep, beep, boop, beep, boop. _

_Ring, ring, ring_.

"Hello?" answered a mature-sounding female voice.

"Hi, um, Tonya?" Chad answered.

"This isn't Tonya; this is her sister, Maxine. I'll get her. May I ask who's calling?" the speakerphone replied to us. Oh, snap, I thought, Maxine sounds so polite for a Wagner.

"Um, this is Chad. From school," he said, as if she would know so many other Chad's.

"OK. Hold on a minute," I then heard a _clink_, and in the distance a faint, "Tonya! Phone for you!"

I heard footsteps, and then an out-of-breath voice say, "Hello?"

"Hey, Tonya, this is Chad. What's up?" Chad asked the speakerphone.

"Oh, nothing much, Chad, what's up with you?" she said, her voice changing from polite to sickeningly sweet when she heard it was Chad.

"Well, nothing much is happening to me, except… well, no, I shouldn't." Chad pretended to sound downcast. I wasn't quite sure what he was doing, but I decided to trust him. Besides, if I spoke, we would be given away.

"Shouldn't what, Chad?" Oh, my goodness, I was going to get a cavity from that voice if it didn't stop!

"I was just wondering if you wanted to go to the dance with me?" My jaw dropped. WHAT?! Chad looked at me, saw my expression, and grinned. I relaxed. This must be some part of the evil, twisted plan that Chad has. I turned my attention back to the speakerphone.

"Chad, I would love to go to the dance with you!" squealed Tonya. I grimaced. Great, now I had cavities _and _I was deaf.

"Well, you shouldn't," said Chad in a flat voice.

"What do you mean, I shouldn't?" asked Tonya, in a very confused voice.

"You shouldn't love going to the dance with me, because you have a boyfriend!" Chad practically screamed into the phone. There was silence on the other line, then-

"How do you know about Blake?" Tonya whispered.

"How do I? You guys were only making out in the library! What I don't get is, if you love him so much, why are you cheating on him?" Oh, man, Chad was good at this. He had gotten the information about Tonya from me, though, and I had gotten it from Gabriella, but that was OK if he didn't get it first hand.

"I was cheating on him because… well, can't you love two people at the same time?" she asked, clearly trying to dig herself out of the hole.

"No," said Chad flatly, "No, you can't. Especially when you already have a boyfriend. Now, please stop hitting on me, I like someone else, and leave me alone, got it? OK, bye!" he said, and slammed down the phone. I looked at Chad in amazement. He liked someone else? He never told me that!

"So, Chad," I said casually, "Who is this other person that you like?"

"No one, I just made that up so Tonya would stop flirting with me!" he said, going red in the face.

"Come on, Chad, I've known you since preschool, you can't lie to me. Tell me, who is it?" I pestered

"Well, OK, maybe I _do_ like somebody. But I'm not telling you!" he said protectively.

I laughed. "Chad, you sound like a five-year-old girl."

Chad turned even redder. "Well, it's just that, it's not the usual type of girl that I like."

I understood. "Oh, so you don't like a cheerleader? Well, Chad, that's OK. They are kind of shallow."

"Yeah, well, whatever, Troy. Don't you have to go? It's already 5:30."

"Oh, crap!" I shouted, and ran out the door. I was supposed to be home by 5:30. I quickly got out my phone, sent Gabi a text message, and ran home as fast as I could.

HSMISCOOL-HSMISCOOL-HSMISCOOL

**(A/N: This is now with Taylor and Gabriella at Gabriella's house, just FYI, and in Taylor's POV.)**

Gabriella and I were studying at her house when we were interrupted by the ring of her cell phone.

"_I'm bringing sexy back, yeah, you other boys don't know how to-_" Gabriella answered her phone. "You have one new text message." Said her phone in a monotone voice.

"Oh, look, it's from Troy and it says- AAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Gabriella screamed so loud, I swear I almost turned deaf.

"What, Gabi?" I said, impatient to hear the news.

"Well," she started off, "Troy says that Chad likes someone, but he won't tell him, and it's not a cheerleader!" Gabriella squealed.

"Great. And why is that a good thing?" I asked, confused.

"Well, it's _obvious_ that it's you! I mean, you can so tell!"

"Whatever, Gabi." I rolled my eyes, and got back to work.

Yet, for _some_ reason I couldn't quite concentrate on my work that day.

**A/N: Yeah, sorry about the part from Troy's POV, he might have sounded gay, I dunno, because, see, I'm a girl and I don't quite know what guys think… so… that's that, please review, I love you, Muah!**

**Tootles!**

**TheFabMax**


	8. Preparations

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Eight: Preparations**

**A/N: OK, OK, I'm updating! Be happy! Just another reminder, some of you have me on your story alert list, but I have not had one single review from you! Make your presence known! I love reviews; they make me write chapters sooner, just FYI. Now, for Chapter Eight: Preparations.**

"_Beep, beep, beep, bee"-_ I slapped the 'off' button with my hand, and sprang out of bed. Today is the day that I am going to the dance, in disguise, and finding out if Chad likes me! Oh, my gosh, I am so excited! I picked my outfit out the night before, but now, looking at it, it seems like it's too… good. Right now, I feel sort of… dark, if I daresay. And a pink American Eagle t-shirt with light jeans does not say 'I-am-going-to-sneak-into-a-dance-without-my-parents-permission' at all. I decided to opt for black jeans and a green Billa Bong sweater. I gave myself a nod of approval after looking in the mirror, and started on my makeup. I gave myself a light swoop of mascara, and put on my regular foundation, and headed down to breakfast. I scooped some yogurt into a bowl, and I was off.

I arrived at school at 8:15. Perfect. Enough time to talk to Gabriella, but not too early that there are only a few other people here. I looked around, and saw her at the front entrance. I ran up to her.

"Hey, Gabi!" I practically shouted. "I am so excited!"

"I know!" Gabriella squealed. She looked at me. "Hey, you're wearing less makeup than usual. And your hair isn't nearly as straight."

I grinned. It was all part of the plan. "Well, I put on less makeup because that way when I wear more makeup to the dance, Chad won't see the difference. And I am going to straighten my hair for the dance."

"Ah," Gabriella said with understanding, "You're disguising yourself, I get it. Smart move."

"I know, I know," I said, pretending to wave it off. I giggled, and so did Gabriella. It was such a stupid joke but I am so nervous right now, I will laugh at everything. That's just how I am. When I'm nervous, I laugh. It's weird, I know, but what can you do?

The first bell rang, signaling that class was in 10 minutes. I ran to my locker, and grabbed my Social Studies. I slid into homeroom, with two minutes to spare. Looking around, I quickly took the seat behind Gabriella. I saw Troy and Chad talking about some girls beach volleyball tournament that they had seen on TV. I shook my head. No matter what, boys will be boys.

Mrs. Darbus sailed into the room, this time a vision of lilac and puke yellow. I could smell her perfume from the back of the classroom. It was a different scent than the one she had been wearing the past week (a.k.a. Teen Spirit). This one was more like… Ode to a rotten egg. I didn't even have to look to the front row to know that Troy was practically dying. Poor, poor Troy. Imagine having to go through that everyday. It would be terrible!

Enough about Mrs. Darbus's perfume. I have to quit spacing out like this! If I don't, my grades are going to suffer.

After the morning announcements, Mrs. Darbus stood up and cleared her throat. "Class, as you know, you have to make your presentations about celebrations from the 15th century. I hope you are all prepared, as I will not give you a second chance. Thank you. First up, Troy Bolton and Penny Fraser."

I only half paid attention to Troy's project. He was holding up a really complicated-looking poster, while Penny was doing all the talking. I had a feeling Troy didn't do a lot of work on his project. I was in Chad's group, which was a blessing and a burden. It was a blessing because I was in Chad's group, duh. It was also a burden because, well, I was in Chad's group. I mean, I don't get distracted easily, but Chad is a big distraction. One that I like to look at-- a lot.

I thought about mine and Chad's project. He was actually a pretty good worker. We had our presentation all worked out, and we didn't even have to go over to each other's houses. We only had to work in the library. I caught Chad staring at me more than once, though he looked away when I looked up. I am now constantly afraid that I have a piece of food stuck in my teeth.

After Penny and Troy came Jason and Kelsi. I saw that Ryan looked jealous that a guy other than him was working privately with Kelsi, who was his girlfriend. Good thing that Kelsi was extremely loyal to Ryan. I know that Jason has had the hotts for her since about the beginning of grade 10. But she's taken, so I think that Jason should just _back off_.

Oh, crap, there I go again. Not paying attention. Man, why am I so out of it this morning? I mentally shook myself, and settled down in my seat to watch the presentations.

After Gabriella and Bryan, and Kathy and Katy, it was mine and Chad's turn. I stood up, and tried to mentally prepare myself for the unexpected. I have learned over the years that Chad is very unpredictable. I pushed my hair off my face, and walked to the front of the classroom. I saw that Chad had the poster. Good. He hadn't forgotten. I stood beside Chad, and held out our speech so both of us could see it.

**(A/N: I am making this up as I go along. Don't sue if the info's wrong!)**

"In the 15th century, they had many celebrations. Some were due to weddings and such, but most were due to the victory of wars."

Chad took over. "As you can see from this poster, they ate many things at their celebrations, such as pheasant, pig suckling and veal. But they didn't just enjoy meat, they also dined on fruit, like apples, mangos, and strawberries. They drank fine wine, usually made from the host's own vineyard."

I continued. "At celebrations, they did lots of things. For example, they listened to music, and heard stories."

Chad looked at me when I didn't continue. "And they danced. Don't forget dancing."

"Excuse me," Mrs. Darbus interrupted. "What kind of dancing?"

Chad stumbled over his words. "Um, it was, what was it called? Um, let me show you." With that, he grabbed me, and started to ballroom dance with me. I was in a state of shock. Chad was dancing… with me? In the middle of a classroom? What?!

After about thirty seconds of dancing, he let go of my waist. The classroom clapped, and Chad bowed, with a goofy grin on his face. I just stood there, not sure if my legs would support me if I tried to move. Eventually, I recovered.

"Yes, they also did dancing, Chad. Just like that. One of the most famous celebrations is the one concerning the war between Europe and Austria." I continued on.

After our presentation, I hurried to my seat, and quickly sat down. I was still blushing furiously, and I was desperate to get to my seat.

The bell rang just as Mrs. Darbus stood up. She spread out her hands, and opened the door. "The rest of the groups will be presenting tomorrow. Chad, Taylor," she called over the din, "Will you please stay back for a while?"

I exchanged a look with Gabriella, and walked tensely over to Mrs. Darbus. I saw Chad doing the same.

"Now," Mrs. Darbus started, "I know that young adolescents, such as yourselves, naturally find, shall I say, _attraction_ to each other." I turned red. Oh, my gosh, I will not be able to look Chad in the eye for the next five years or so. She continued, "Dancing, or showing your affection for each other publicly, in my class, is strictly prohibited! Please never do this again. You may leave."

I walked quickly out of the class, stunned. I could not believe that she would talk to us about that! I heard Chad's footsteps coming down the hallway. I turned around. Might as well talk about what Mrs. Darbus before it becomes awkward.

"So, Chad," I started. "Wasn't what Mrs. Darbus said funny?"

"I know, I mean, she calls dancing a public display of affection?" Chad's brown eyes twinkled. My heart nearly melted.

"Yeah, I know, right? Well, I better go, I have to meet Gabi." I said, eager to get away now that we had cleared things up. "See you later!"

"Yeah," Chad echoed, "See you!"

The next two periods passed by in a snap, as I was re-living the feeling of Chad's hands on my waist. His body was close to mine, our faces only six inches apart. I sighed involuntarily. My, Chad was definitely a good dancer…

At lunch, Gabriella and I went to our usual table. The other "regulars" at our table were doing a project together for Science.

"So," Gabriella said, with a glint in her eye, "How much did you enjoy dancing with Chad today?"

I groaned. I should have known I would be bombarded with questions. "Well, other than the fact that I was mortally embarrassed… yeah, I loved it."

Gabriella laughed. "You were daydreaming about it all morning, weren't you?"

I laughed, too. Gabriella knew me too well. "You stalker. How did you know?"

"I have my ways." Gabriella answered, rubbing her hands together evilly. "What was Mrs. Darbus talking to you about?"

I felt my cheeks go red remembering the incident. "Oh, that. It wasn't a big deal." I waved it off, pretending that it was, indeed, no bid deal.

"Liar," Gabriella said instantly. "You are a liar. It was a big deal, wasn't it? Face it, Tay, you can't lie to me."

I grinned somewhat reluctantly. "Fine, you win. Mrs. Darbus was talking to me and Chad about… PDA."

Gabriella looked confused. "What's PDA?"

I rolled my eyes. "Public displays of affection. She said that 'young adolescents sometimes find attraction to each other, but it is not appropriate to show it in a public place.' Or something like that. But it was so embarrassing, her suggesting that Chad and I liked each other."

Gabriella giggled. "Ha-ha, you go told off by Darbus!"

I scowled. "Gabi, it's not funny. It was embarrassing!"

Gabriella stopped. "Sorry. But you have to admit, her calling us 'young adolescents' is pretty weird."

I relented. "Yeah, I guess so."

The rest of the day passed by in a blur. Before I knew it, it was the end of the day, and I was at my front door. I walked in, calling a greeting to my mom in the kitchen.

The minutes left until seven o'clock seemed to go in slow motion. Finally, I heard my mom call me down to say good-bye.

"OK, honey," my mom said hurriedly, "Mine and your father's cell phone numbers are on the fridge, as are the doctors. Your father and I will be home by 11:30. We'll call if it's earlier."

A thought struck me. "Hey mom, call my cell if you're going to be late or early, because I won't answer the phone because I have a lot of homework and I need to concentrate. So call my cell, OK?"

"OK, dear," she said, kissing my cheek. "Bye!"

"Good-bye, sweetheart!" my dad said, kissing me on top of my head

"Bye, love you!" I called out the door.

A few minutes after my parents left, Gabriella came.

"Hey, Gabi," I said, "What's up?"

"Nothing much. Come on, let's get ready." Gabriella zoomed past me, and up to my bedroom.

About an hour later, we were finally finished. I quickly pulled my hair through the straightening iron one last time, and made sure my gold mask was set on my face right. I smoothed my red dress, and saw Gabriella do the same to her blue one.

"Well," I said nervously, "Let's go."

Gabriella nodded in agreement, and stepped out the door. I followed her. My heart pounded. This was it. My one chance.

From now one, it was completely out of my control.

**A/N: OMG, sorry for not updating in forever, you know, so much SS homework. So, you know what to do, review, review, review! I need the reviews! Thank-you so much! Next chapter; the dance!**


	9. The Dance

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Nine: The Dance**

**A/N: OMG! I am nearly done this fic! That is so sad! I love writing this story, it is so fun! Now it will end in TWO CHAPTERS!  Boohoo. But, I have a new fic out, Juliet is who? Check it out! It's fabulous!  I would also like to comment that I got eight reviews last chapter, which is a record for me! Yay me! But you guys made it possible. But, enough of my blather, onto Chapter Nine: The Dance.**

I climbed into the passenger seat of Gabriella's car with butterflies in my stomach. What was I doing?! This suddenly feels like a really bad idea. I mean, sneaking off to a dance for a _guy_? Who was I, Sharpay?

"Gabriella," I groaned, "Don't let me do this. Take me back home, or preferably to the asylum."

"Tay," Gabriella answered firmly, "You don't need to go to an asylum. Everything will turn out OK. Chad won't find out who you are. You want to do this. You can do this. You will do this."

I heaved a sigh. "Thanks for the pep talk, Gabi."

Gabriella smiled. "No problem. What are friends for? I mean, other than toting each other around in our cars. Which," she frowned, "I seem to be doing a lot lately."

I laughed. "Gabi, Chad would recognize my car, you know that. You have to drive me, you have no choice! Otherwise," I heaved a dramatic sigh, "Otherwise, the plan would be ruined!"

"Oh, my gosh," Gabriella gaped, "You're starting to act like Sharpay; _before_ we tamed her."

I smiled, remembering how dramatic Sharpay used to be. "Yeah, so what? I have my dramatic moments. And Sharpay's our friend now, we shouldn't be talking about her like that."

"You're right. My bad. So," Gabriella started to drill me, "What is your name?"

"Um, Taylor?" I replied, not quite getting it.

"No," Gabriella sighed, "Your _new_ name."

"OH!" I exclaimed. "April."

"Why are you at the dance, and why doesn't Chad know you?"

"I just transferred from Minneapolis, and I take all AP courses."

"Favourite colour?"

"Red."

"Age?"

"Sixteen, in grade 11."

"Interests?"

"Dancing, swimming, and school."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

I looked at Gabriella. "Um, no. That was a stupid question."

She shrugged. "Oh, well, just checking that you know your stuff."

We chatted all the way to school. I could tell that both of us were trying to keep our minds off of the task at hand.

We pulled into the school parking lot, and got out of the car. 8:30. Perfect. I could see that a lot of cars were already there, and some were parked on the street already. I tugged on my mask, and motioned for Gabriella to follow me.

"Hey, Taylor," Gabriella questioned me, "Um, what will you do with your voice? You can't speak normally."

I held up my hands. "Don't worry, I got it all worked out." I cleared my throat, and raised my voice to sound like Gabriella's. "Hello, my name's April. What's yours?"

Gabriella looked impressed. "Not bad. How did you get it so good?"

I grinned. "I used you as my model."

Gabriella pretended to look hurt. "My voice is not high."

"Yes, it is." I said impatiently. "Geez, have you ever heard yourself?"

Gabriella pouted, and then grinned. "Fine. Maybe it's a _little_ high."

I rolled my eyes. Would she never admit that her voice was high? "Whatever you say. Now, let's go in. I'm dying to see what the decorations committee did with the gym."

Gabriella and I hurried as fast as we could to the school, which was not very fast, as we were wearing high heels. We stepped into the school, and laughed. There were arrows pointing in the direction of the gym saying, "Dance that way!" or "Party over there!" It was probably the stupidest thing I have ever seen. I mean, come on, 'Party over there?' No, just, no.

"Come one, Gabi," I giggled. "The party's over here."

I dragged her along the hallway, eager to get to the gym.

"Hey," Gabriella protested, "Slow down. My heels are too high."

"It's not my fault that you want to be higher, is it now?" I replied, grudgingly slowing down a fraction.

Gabriella and I stopped in front of the doors to the gym.

"You ready?" Gabriella asked, squeezing my hand.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I responded, taking my hand from hers and patting my hair.

I looked at Gabriella, smiled, and walked into the gym. My mouth dropped open. The gym looked _amazing_! I could not believe what I was seeing! The gym was decorated with white snowflakes hanging from the roof. I don't know how the people got them up there. **(A/N: I know, I know, it doesn't snow in New Mexico. But, hey, they can get in the spirit of things, too, can't they?)** They had dimmed the lights so everything seemed to be in a sort of fog. The walls were draped with some sort of shimmery material, and the refreshment tables were covered with gauze. I took a quick intake of breath. The decoration committee had really used their budget well.

"Wow," Gabriella murmured next to me, "This is awesome."

"Yeah," I agreed, "Wow."

Gabriella was the first one to snap out of her reverie. "OK, let's go find Troy. Now, where is he?" Gabriella scanned the dance floor. I looked around the refreshment tables and –BINGO! - there he was! Figures. He and Chad were already pigging out.

"Hey, look, there he is." I pointed. "Over there, by that refreshment table-no, that one- yeah, see him?"

"Yes, _April_," She said, using my fake name to avoid suspicion. "I can see my boyfriend."

"Well, then, what are you waiting for? Come on," I said, dragging her along for the second time this evening. As we neared the boys, I slowed down and tugged at my mask again. I didn't want any part of my face to be seen.

"Hey, Troy," Gabriella greeted him casually. "Hey, Chad."

"Hey, Gabi," Troy said, greeting her with a kiss.

"Hi, Gabi, who's your friend?" Chad asked, getting straight to the point.

"Oh, um, I'm April," I said, remembering in the nick of time to use my fake voice.

"Oh," Chad looked confused. "For a second, I thought you looked like someone I know. Her name's Taylor, do you know her?"

I saw Gabriella cast me a worried glance, but I answered. "Oh, um, she's in some of my classes. I take all AP courses, you see,"

"Oh, you go to this school? I haven't seen you around." Chad was asking me questions I had already planned! Man, I am good!

"I just transferred here from Minneapolis, and I take all AP courses, like I said. By the way, what's your name?" I said, pretending to be clueless.

"Chad, sorry, I didn't know you were new, usually everyone knows my name." I giggled.

"Ah, I see that you're modest."

Chad blushed. "Sorry, but it's true! They do know my name!"

I laughed again. "So, why does everyone know your name?"

"I'm on the basketball team. You must not have seen me at all, or you would have remembered the hair," he said, pointing to his head. It's then that I took a moment to look at his costume. He was wearing a Phantom of the Opera mask, with a classic suit, and there was a red rose with a black ribbon tied around it in his jacket pocket. **(A/N: I don't know how many of you have seen Phantom of the Opera, but after every performance, the Phantom leaves Christine a red rose with a black ribbon tied around the stem. Just so you don't get confused.)**

"Yeah, I probably would have remembered your hair." I agreed. "Nice costume. I love the Phantom of the Opera."

"Really? You should see my mom. She has a picture of the guy that plays him in our _refrigerator_. How creepy is that?" Chad commented. I laughed. Of course, I already knew about his mom's obsession, but April wouldn't.

"Pretty creepy. But why in your refrigerator?" I asked, pretending to be confused.

"I don't know, it's one of her crazy diet ideas!" He answered, throwing up his hands.

"Hey, hey, Chad!" Troy interrupted. "Let me talk to April! I haven't said a word to her yet!"

I laughed. "Man, I am just so popular today!"

"Yeah," Troy agreed. "Everyone wants to get a piece of you. Anyways, where did you say you were from?"

The conversation pretty much continued in that matter, me talking to Chad and Troy or Gabriella dropping in a comment every now and then. All in all, my plan was going perfectly. There was still a slight problem, though. I hadn't asked him if he had a girlfriend. On the bright side, I hadn't seen Tonya yet.

Never mind, cross out that last sentence.

Tonya spotted Chad and I, and headed straight over to us. I gulped. What would Chad do?

"Hey, babe," Tonya purred. "How's my boyfriend?"

"Well," Chad started off, "First off, I'm not your boyfriend, and you're not my girlfriend. Secondly, I'm doing terrible, now that you're here." My eyes widened. Ouch, that was a bit harsh.

"Oh, Chaddy-waddy, you don't mean that! I even broke up with Blake to be with you!" Tonya exclaimed.

"Well, you made a mistake, because I don't like you! Get away!" Chad looked really annoyed.

"Why? Is she," Tonya looked spitefully at me, "Your new girlfriend?"

Chad looked at me, and then an idea struck him. "Why, yes. Yes, she is." He casually put his arm around me.

My mouth dropped, but I managed to close it. Why was Chad pretending that _I_-or rather, April- was his girlfriend?

Tonya looked at me with disgust. "Ew. Why would you like her? No," she held up her hand, "Don't answer that. You're only trying to make me jealous, I get it. Whatever, you'll come around eventually." She finished, casting me a final, superior glance, and stalked off.

Chad's arm immediately went back to his side. I sighed inwardly. His arm had felt so good around my shoulders. "Sorry 'bout that," He mumbled, blushing a bright shade of red. "I had to get her to leave, and that was the only way."

I giggled, not minding at all. "Oh, it's not a problem. Just a question though, who was that? A jealous ex?"

Chad looked up, relieved that I wasn't mad or disgusted. "Well, I guess you could say that, but we never really dated. She just flirted with me. I didn't know that she had a boyfriend, though. Between you and me, I think she might be psycho," he whispered to me in pretend confidentiality.

I laughed appreciatively. "Sounds scary. So I take it that you don't have a girlfriend, otherwise she wouldn't have come on to you." I held my breath. What would he say?

Chad looked downcast. "Well, no, I don't have a girlfriend. But I do like someone."

I looked up eagerly. "Oh, who is it?"

Chad's eyes widened. "Um, I can't tell you. Since you take all AP courses, you probably know her."

I laughed. "Ah-ha! So it's girl! Interesting." Chad rolled his eyes while I pondered this for a second. I tried to think of all the not ugly girls in at least one AP class. Well, there was me, Gabriella, Betsy, Hannah, and… I winced. There were also Laurie and Jade, who were a guys dream. They were popular, and were quite curvaceous, and took exactly two AP courses. Drat, it must be one of them.

"Hello, Earth to April, are you there?" Chad asked, waving a hand in front of my face.

"Oh," I said, startled. "I was just thinking about who you might like. I think I might have an idea, but I don't want to ruin it for when you ask her out and you guys start dating."

Chad looked confused. "What make you think that she likes me?"

I rolled my eyes. "What girl wouldn't? I mean," I joked, "Now that Troy's taken and all."

Chad grinned, and looked over to where Troy and Gabriella were dancing. His grin faded. "Yeah, but I'm too stupid for her. She thinks I'm just some stupid basketball guy."

"Did she tell you that?" I asked. Ouch, this girl had to be harsh!

"Well, not in so many words, but you can tell."

I rolled my eyes. "Never jump to conclusions with a girl. Never."

Chad nodded, and then looked at me. "Hey, do you want to dance?"

I thought about this. It was a fast song, which meant that we didn't have to slow dance, and 'Ain't no other Man' was my favourite song.

"Fine." I relented.

We danced, and it was just as good as when we danced at the after party. I noticed Gabriella and Troy dancing nearby, just in case.

That's how Chad and I spent the evening, just talking and occasionally dancing together. I was sad when 10:20 came around. The dance would end in five minutes! Chad and I sat down, and the DJ started talking to us.

"Hey, y'all, it's been fabulous DJing for all of y'all." Everyone cheered. "Now, at the end of the night, y'all gotta take your masks off. It's tradition, people, don't fight it!"

Everyone started taking off their masks. I looked for Gabriella in a panic. Where was she? I saw her coming towards me, and felt a wave of relief.

"Hey, April, aren't you going to take your mask off?" Chad asked.

"No," I said flatly.

"Why not? Come on, you have to!" Chad said, and reached for my mask.

"No!" I yelled, but it was too late. Chad had already lifted my mask off my face.

"Taylor?" He asked in astonishment. I covered my face with my hands, and ran out the door, with Gabriella right behind me. As we ran to her car, I started to cry.

What was I going to do now?

**A/N: Ooh, I know, cliffy! I've found that I get more reviews when I do a cliffhanger, so that's why! I am so proud of this chapter, it's so long. Anyways, review, as always. Don't you want to know what happens?**

**Tootles!**

**TheFabMax **


	10. Confessions

**Cinderella**

**Chapter Ten: Confessions**

**A/N: OMG, it's the last chapter! I had a really fun time writing this, it was a blast. But I have to thank all my reviewers, and one in particular. FCHS-HSMPrincess reviewed EVERY SINGLE CHAPTER RIGHT AWAY! She's a fabulous author; go check her out, she's on my Fave Authors list. Anyway, FCHS-HSMPrincess, this chapter is dedicated to YOU! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I know I haven't said so in the last few chapters, but I do NOT own HSM!!! What part of that don't you understand?!**

As soon as I got home, I ripped off my dress, and put it in my closet. I pulled on some PJ's, and lay down on my bed, deep in thought.

Maybe it was a good thing that Chad found out. Then I wouldn't have to tell him on Monday. But it could also be a bad thing. I mean, what if Chad doesn't like me? What if he thinks I'm a psycho maniac, who is obsessed with him? What if… I stopped my train of thought. I was just going to have to suck it up if he didn't like me, and rejoice if he did. It was as simple as that. I shook my head and grabbed my diary. I needed to sort out my thoughts.

_Dear Diary,_

_Tonight, as you know, I snuck out to the dance with Chad. Everything went flawlessly, until he took off my mask at the end of the night! He saw my face, and now he's knows that I was lying to him! What will I do? Should I call him, or wait until Monday? Will he pretend that nothing happened, or will he make a big deal out of it? I just don't know _what _will happen anymore._

I was interrupted in the middle of my entry by the sound of my doorbell ringing. I left my diary open on my bed, and rushed downstairs.

I opened the door and saw…

"Mom, Dad, why are you home early?" **(A/N: Ha! You thought it would be Chad! Think again, suckers!) **

"Oh, well, our meeting was let out early, so we thought that we might as go home and maybe watch a movie with you. I mean, it's not as if you were out." My dad answered. I flinched slightly at his comment. Boy, it was a good thing that the dance ended at 10:30, and not any later. Who would have thought my parents would be back by 11:00?

"Oh, yeah, I just kind of hung around here all evening."

"Honey," my mom asked, "Why are you wearing so much make-up? And why is your hair straightened?"

I gulped. "Erm, uh, I was bored, so I decided to give myself a makeover!" Boy, that was a close one!

My mom looked at me suspiciously. "Are you sure you didn't go out?"

"Who, me? What are you talking about, you crazy girl? Of course I didn't! I'm grounded. Remember?" I said nervously, playing with a piece of my hair.

"OK," my mom eyed me skeptically. "Just, don't stay up too late, OK? Get some sleep, you look tired."

"OK, mom, I just want to call Gabi." I turned around, and ran to my room. I grabbed my phone, and dialed the familiar seven-digit number.

_Ring, rin-_ the phone was cut off in mid-ring.

"Hello?" Gabriella's voice wafted over the phone line to me.

"Um, hey Gabi, it's me."

"Oh, I was waiting for you to call!" Gabriella exclaimed, practically deafening me.

"You were? Stalker. Anyways, what are we going to do?" I asked her.

"What do you mean, we?" she asked. "Um, I think you mean _you_. I mean, I'm not the one who snuck off to a dance to see him."

"Yeah," I agreed, "But you're my best friend. And you helped. And so did Troy. So you _both_ should help me."

"Bu you thought of the idea!" Gabriella argued.

I tried to think of more reasons that she should come with me. "So?"

"So what?" Gabriella asked. "Oh, and another reason, you're the one who likes him! Troy and I like him as friends! And when Chad admits that he likes you, I, personally, don't need to see you making out with him!"

I sighed. Gabriella was too logical for her own good. "Fine. I'll tell him. By myself."

I could practically hear Gabriella smiling. "Great. Well, I got to go. My mom wants me in bed early tonight, because we have to leave town tomorrow. Bye!"

"Yeah, bye!" I echoed, and put the phone down.

As I crawled under the covers, I dreaded what would happen on Monday. What if Chad told people? I would be humiliated beyond belief. I rolled over to my other side. I had a feeling I would not sleep well.

CHAYLOR-CHAYLOR-CHAYLOR

_Monday…_

I woke up on Monday morning, yet again, to the annoying monotonous beeping of my alarm clock. I angrily hit the 'off' button, and rolled out of bed. I had not slept very well that weekend, as I had predicted. I even fell asleep during the church service on Sunday. **(A/N: Yeah, I made Taylor a Mennonite, like me. Woot!) **But, honestly, who could blame me? The service was so boring!

I walked over to my closet. What to wear, what to wear? I quickly scanned my closet, and picked out jeans and a navy tank top, over which I put a yellow long-sleeved shirt. I ran downstairs and grabbed the toast ready for me on the counter, scarfed it down, and flew out the door.

When I arrived at school, I cautiously looked around. Good. Chad wasn't there yet. That took a load off my mind. Also, no one was staring at me, except for Ernie. But that doesn't count, because Ernie has a mental disability, and tends to stare at you for about ten minutes, before moving on and looking at another person. I saw Gabriella running up to me.

"Hey, Tay," she panted, obviously winded. "Do you think anybody knows?"

I shrugged. "If they do, they are all great actors, because no one has looked at me since I got here."

Gabriella sighed with relief. "Good."

I rolled my eyes. "Gabi, why are you so relieved? It's me who has the problem."

"Yeah," Gabriella answered, "But I can't be best friends with a social outcast."

I giggled, and punched her lightly on the arm. I knew she didn't mean it, but I had still been worrying about that all weekend. What if I _did_ turn into a social outcast?

Gabriella and I walked into school, talking the whole way. We parted to go to our separate lockers.

As I was walking to homeroom, I spotted Chad. I quickly made an excursion to the girl's bathroom. If he was going to reject me, I did _not_ want it to be in front of a whole crowd of people.

I reached homeroom unharmed, and took my place in the second-last row. Gabriella came over to my desk with Troy, and we started talking about the History test that day.

_Riiiiiiiiiiing_ went the late bell. I looked around. Chad wasn't there yet, and neither was Mrs. Darbus. I settled down into my seat, and waited for the announcements. Just then, Chad walked through the door. I panicked. Mrs. Darbus wasn't there yet, and Chad was heading straight for my desk. I prepared for the worst.

"Hello, class," Mrs. Darbus breezed in, "I was held up in the staff room. Mr. Danforth, please go to your seat, why are you standing up?" I silently blessed Mrs. Darbus.

"Well, Mr. Danforth, why are you standing up?" Mrs. Darbus pestered.

"Umm, well, I," Chad sputtered. "I, um, dropped my pencil and it rolled over here. Yeah."

"Right," she said skeptically. "Please just sit down. I have your marks from your presentations, I will call you up in your pairs. Troy and Penny!" she called, shuffling her papers. I saw Troy looking delighted as he sat down. I guessed that he must have gotten an 'A'.

Mrs. Darbus called three other pairs before calling up Chad and I. I nervously walked up. Would dancing in the middle of class give us a low mark? And would Mrs. Darbus keep us after class again, forcing Chad and I to walk alone together?

"Well," Mrs. Darbus started. "As you know, I did not approve of your, ahem, public displays of affection. But, you did do a very good job on your presentation, so I am giving you an 'A-'."

I sighed in relief. A-! That was a pretty good mark for Darbus, considering I wasn't one of her favourite students. I went back to my seat, and looked up. I saw Chad staring at me, silently telling me to wait up for him after class. I chose to ignore his signals, and instead turned to Gabriella.

"So, what did you get?" I asked.

"An 'A'. You?" she replied. I noticed that she was not in the mood for talking, as Troy was trying to get her attention.

"Um, 'A-'." I said, and started doodling on my loose leaf. Man, was I ever bored!

CHAYLOR-CHAYLOR-CHAYLOR

The rest of the day passed uneventfully, unless you count Chad practically stalking me all day. I mean, wow, did he really want to talk to me that badly?

As the end of the day bell rang, I turned to Gabriella. "Don't wait up for me, OK? I have my car here, and I have to talk to Chad."

Gabriella winked at me. "OK! Have fun!"

I rolled my eyes. Honestly, could she get any more immature?

I stuffed my books in my locker, and grabbed my backpack. I looked around for Chad. Where was he? I double-checked. Cheerleaders? Nope, Chad wasn't doing much flirting today. Jocks? He didn't seem to be with his regular posse. Random kids going out of school? Nope, not there either. Was he avoiding me? I hoped not.

As I walked out of school, I noticed a familiar head of brown curls. Chad was hanging out by the flagpole, all by himself! It's pretty unusual to see Chad alone, but I was grateful. That meant no friends to mock me and ask questions.

"Hey, Chad." I greeted him nervously. I hoped he wouldn't yell at me. I mean, there weren't a lot of people in the school yard, but I was not eager to get embarrassed.

"Hey, Taylor, listen." He started. "I'm going to cut to the point. Why on Earth did you sneak into the dance, and disguise yourself?"

"Would you believe me if I said that aliens took my brain?" I deadpanned.

"Nope, you're too smart for that. You would trick them into taking their own brains instead. Now, answer my question, why did you sneak out to the dance?" Chad looked at me seriously.

"It seems so stupid, now that I think about it. See, it was because of you." I looked at Chad's shocked expression, and continued. "You see, after the after party, you didn't do anything to indicate that you liked me. And since you were flirting with Tonya, I wanted to know whether or not you liked me. So I devised a plan to sneak into the dance and find out of you liked someone. And now it seems really embarrassing and idiotic." I finished, slightly out of breath.

Chad stared at me. "You snuck out to a dance because you like me?! Why didn't you just ask me if I liked you, too?"

I rolled my eyes. "Would you have answered me honestly?"

Chad nodded. "Absolutely."

"OK, then, let me guess who it is." Chad looked surprised, but nodded his agreement. "Is it Tonya?"

"No!" Chad yelled.

"Is it Laurie or Jade?"

"Nope, and nope." He answered, smiling.

"Well, then," I said, frustrated. "Who is it?"

Chad smiled. "You."

My eyes widened. Before I could start to process what he said, I felt a pair of lips on mine, and realized that Chad was kissing me. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Chad liked me, and he was kissing me!

I relaxed slightly, and started to kiss him back. My hands trailed over his abs and chest, reaching their destination on Chad's muscular shoulders. I gasped as Chad's tongue went into my mouth, and then sank into the kiss.

It seemed my fairytale was coming true at last.

**A/N: It's over! No! I love this story! I will, though, be starting a new story, called A Day in Quebec soon. Look for it! Anyway, just because it's the last chapter doesn't mean that you shouldn't review. In fact, you should!**

**Tootles! (For the last time.)**

**TheFabMax**


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